Gilbert Thurston

Random Thoughts About Life, Ministry and Whatever Else Happens to be on my Mind

Archives for May 2009

Things I’m Excited About…

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  • Going to the Caps game tonight with Andy.
  • That God has promised never again to flood the entire earth (it’s pouring rain outside as I type this).
  • That I’ve had about a half-dozen couples approach me during the Re:married series saying they want to get married instead of continuing to live together in sin.
  • That other testimonies are coming in of broken marriages being restored.
  • That Lisa and I practice what I preach.  :)
  • That John Winebrenner, the founder of our denomination and whom I’m reading about in a biography right now, was such a rebel.  He was criticized for his methods but yet he was passionate about reaching people for Christ no matter what, even when it meant he got kicked out of his church.
  • That the same Holy Spirit who inspired such faith in men like Winebrenner resides in us.
  • That even more of the questions you wanted answers to about marriage, dating, relationships and sex will be answered this week as we wrap up our Re:married series.
  • That our next series, entitled, HOSTAGE will most likely be one of the most life-changing series that we’ve done yet.
  • That vacation is now less than 1 month away!
  • That I get to pastor such an awesome group of people who are more concerned with making a difference for eternity than money and material possessions!

    • Inside Today’s Experiences

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  • What an ugly day…I think I hate rain as much as I do the snow and cold.
  • From a set-up and technical stand point it was a pretty good morning…nice and relaxing.
  • That helped because of some last minute changes we had made.
  • One of our core values at United is to be culturally relevant while remaining doctrinally pure.
  • To be honest for this week’s Experience we were flirting with the line…but I felt confident that in it’s proper context the creative elements were going to making some lasting impressions that would ultimately advance the Kingdom.
  • Friday night we decided to pull two things much to my disappointment…
  • So I went from an excited nervous to just plain nervous because it meant trying to go back and make the message make sense.
  • At 9:15 I just wasn’t in to it so I apologize to that crowd.
  • By 10:45 it was a little better and so that’s what we posted if you 9:15’ers want to hear a better version.
  • I’m trusting though that God still spoke to people even through the confusion.
  • Other than that, I felt it was a great day…
  • …the band did great and the crowds (especially 10:45) was lively.
  • Met some great people today…I love the wide variety of people that God is bringing to us.
  • Next week is nothing but Q&A so if you have any questions about marriage, dating, relationships or sex, text us at 301-991-5746 or e-mail me at gilbert@unitedworshipexperience.org
  • Time now for my nap…I need it…then off to friends house.
  • This week will be really busy becuase I’ll be travellling next Monday-Friday so I’ve got to get 2 weeks worth of stuff done this week.
  • One highlight though will be tomorrow night’s trip to DC with Andy for the Caps and Penguins play-off game.

    • Random Friday Thoughts

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  • Enjoying my day off…just woke up from a nap.  :)
  • Last night’s practice for this weekend was awesome…I’m a combination of excited and nervous!
  • You’ll have to be there to see why.
  • This is about as edgy as I think we’ll ever be, but I truly believe that God has directed all of this to create an Experience that not only will you never forget, but will also get you truly re-thinking sex.
  • Speaking of excited, Andy and I got our tickets for Monday night’s Caps vs. Penguins play-off game. 
  • Alexander the Great vs. Cindy (oopps I mean Sidney) the Sissy   haha
  • Yesterday was Dianna Best, our children’s director’s, birthday.
  • The staff went out to a great liitle Italian place in downtown Chambersburg to celebrate.
  • For 44 days Dianna is a year older than me…ha!
  • In all seriousness, Dianna does an awesome job with “little people church”…please don’t forget to thank her for all she and her team does next time you see her.
  • Tonight CAYA is hanging out with a stop at Brusters in the mix.
  • If you’re in the 18-29 range stop by Brusters at 7PM to hang with them.
  • Going to try out Twitter for a week or so to see if I like it.
  • Got another busy week coming up where I’ll have to get 2 weeks worth of stuff done…definetely looking forward to vacation!
  • If you haven’t yet invited someone to United for this weekend…stop what your doing and do it now…you won’t regret it.

    • Important Up-date about this Weekend

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    United attenders and guests, 

    Due to some unforseen complications, we are having to pull some of our creative content for this weekend that I have been promising all week long.  I feel bad because all week long I’ve been promising you one thing and now you’re going to get another, but God is still in control and I still expect big things to happen on Sunday as a result of everything that will still be happening in the Experience.  So please still invite people, just don’t use any of the promises that I’ve made in the past week.  See you Sunday!

    Gilbert 

    PS…it will still be PG-13 so use caution.